Battery management system for batteries in engine start and deep cycle applications

ABSTRACT

A battery management system for batteries, such as, but not limited to, electric vehicle battery packs and cells, lithium iron phosphate batteries, lead acid batteries, gel batteries, and absorbed gel mat batteries, in engine start applications is disclosed. The battery management system is configured to control the charge and charging of each cell individually. The battery management system may be configured to control the charge of a battery which may consist of a plurality of cells, such as, but not limited to, lithium iron phosphate cells, and in at least one embodiment, the battery may consist of, but is not limited to being formed from, four lithium iron phosphate cells connected in series and a battery management system to ensure proper charge and safe operation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/032148, filed on May 29, 2020, which is incorporatedherein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to battery charging systems, and moreparticularly, to battery charging systems configured with engine startbatteries and deep cycle batteries.

BACKGROUND

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) batteries often include protectionmodes, such as Under Voltage Protection (UVP) mode and Over VoltageProtection (OVP) mode, to protect the batteries from being completelydischarged and overcharged. During Under Voltage Protection mode, acontrol system of a lithium iron phosphate battery disconnects the cellpack from the battery posts to prevent further discharge. In the UnderVoltage Protection mode, the control system disconnects the cell packfrom the battery's posts, whereby the measured voltage across the postsis zero. In this mode, the battery may appear as if it is completely“dead”. Automatic battery chargers do not detect such condition and areunable to charge the battery when in the Under Voltage Protection mode.

Similarly, when a lithium iron phosphate battery is in Over VoltageProtection (OVP) mode, the control system disconnects the cell pack fromthe battery posts to prevent overcharging. In this mode, there is noload on the charging system. When the battery is in such mode, anelectrical system of a vehicle to which the battery is coupled oftensuffers improper operation, such as dash board lights flickering, checkengine light, etc. Such problems do not typically occur with aconventional battery, such as lead acid, flooded, AGM, etc., whichpresents a constant load to a charging system regardless of the state ofcharge of the battery.

Additionally, a charging system can create excessive electricalpotential and high current flow from the charging system. Chargingsystems can generate between about 12 Volts direct current to more than20 Volts direct current at currents as high as 60 amps. Such highvoltage and current can damage cells in lithium iron phosphate batterybatteries.

Charging systems often do not produce clean direct current. Rather,charging systems may create a great deal of ripple, which may causeimproper charging of the battery packs cells leading to shortenedlifetimes and damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A battery management system for engine start applications, batterycharging and deep cycle applications for batteries such as, but notlimited to, electric vehicle battery packs and cells and batterychemistries, such as, but not limited to, lithium iron phosphatebatteries, lead acid batteries, gel batteries, and absorbed gel matbatteries is disclosed. The battery management system is configured tocontrol the charge and charging of each cell individually. The batterymanagement system may be configured to control the charge of a batterywhich may consist of a plurality of cells, such as, but not limited to,lithium iron phosphate cells, and in at least one embodiment, thebattery may consist of, but is not limited to being formed from, fourlithium iron phosphate cells connected in series and a batterymanagement system to ensure proper charge and safe operation. Thebattery management system may be configured to control the charge andcharging of each cell individually and not control charging based onlyon the overall metrics of the battery as a whole, which is a sum totalof each of the individual cells within the battery.

The battery management system may be configured to address the problemspreviously set forth as follows. The battery management system mayinclude an under voltage protection mode to protect one or more cells,or an entire battery formed from a plurality of cells from losing toomuch voltage. Unlike conventional technology, the battery managementsystem can enable a voltage to be present across the poles of a batterywhen the battery is in undervoltage protection mode to enable thebattery voltage to be monitored. As such, the battery management systemmay be configured to allow a battery's voltage to be read while in undervoltage protection mode while limiting current flow. Under voltageprotection mode may also automatically clear once the battery charge issufficient or may be cleared via direction from a user through awireless or other communications interface. Under voltage protectionmode may also automatically clear, such as being temporarily suspended,upon detection of an engine start attempt.

The battery management system may also be configured to protect one ormore cells of a battery or the entire battery via an over voltageprotection mode. In particular, the battery management system may beconfigured to continuously monitor each cell of a battery and start todischarge the cell when the cell approaches over voltage protectionvalue. The battery management system may be configured to regulate theinput voltage and current.

The battery management system may be configured for engine startsapplications. In particular, the battery management system may beconfigured to replace cell banks with super capacitors or may beconfigured to be compatible with a combination of cell banks and supercapacitors allowing for high instantaneous current draw events, such as,but not limited to engine starts. The battery management system may beconfigured to collect cells into pack banks, which may allow one or morepacks to be discharged while the other packs are being charged and thusalways maintaining a load on the charging system. The battery managementsystem may be configured to integrate learning/filtering into thesoftware to customize the reserve charge set aside for engine starts.The battery management system may include a battery charging systemincluding one or more power source connections. The battery chargingsystem may include one or more voltage regulators per battery cell.

The battery management system may include a controller configured tocontrol voltage via under and over voltage protection modes and tocharge each cell individually in a multicell battery. The batterymanagement system may include precision voltage references for use as adirect comparison for under voltage protection and over voltageprotection. The controller may be configured to sense whether anindividual cell voltage is equal to or greater than an over voltageprotection reference voltage. If the individual cell voltage is equal toor greater than the over voltage protection reference voltage, then thecontroller may engage the over voltage protection mode via opening acharging field effect transistor. The controller may be configured suchthat when the controller senses that an individual cell voltage is equalto or less than an under voltage protection reference voltage, themicrocontroller may engage the under voltage protection mode via openinga discharging field effect transistor. In at least one embodiment, thecontroller is a microcontroller or other appropriate device.

The battery management system may include a voltage regulator forregulating input for the cell charging circuit to filter out inputvoltage ripple before it reaches the plurality of cells. The voltageregulator may be set to a charge voltage level, thereby allowing maximumloading on the external charging system. The voltage regulator may haveoperating modes including a constant current mode and a constant voltagemode. The voltage regulator may be in constant current mode when thecell voltage is less than the current voltage level. The batterymanagement system may include a feedback loop measuring cell voltage toproperly control the state of the regulator.

The battery management system may include a system control moduleconfigured to maintain the integrity of an electrical system, such as avehicle electrical system, to which the battery management system isattached when the battery management system is in an over voltage mode.In particular, the system control module simulates a battery so that theelectrical system, such as a vehicle electrical system, to which thebattery management system is attached does not develop odd, explainederrors and operating conditions when the battery management system is inan over voltage mode. The system control module may emulate thebattery's impedance when measuring the voltage of each cell. The systemcontrol module of the battery management system may include a dischargefield effect transistor and a battery impedance emulator circuit,wherein the cell voltage is measured with the discharge field effecttransistor open and the battery impedance emulator circuit engaged,thereby maintaining a quieting load on the external charging system,which models a lead acid battery and a absorbent glass mat battery. Thecontroller may implement hysteresis to prevent an oscillation of statesin the feedback loop. The controller may use a voltage regulator tomaintain maximum applied voltage while in constant current mode. Oncecell voltage reaches a charge level voltage, the controller fixes aregulated voltage adjust entering constant voltage mode and remains inthis mode until cell voltage level drops below the charge voltage level.The voltage regulator may be configured to accept input voltage within arange between 12 Volts direct current and 20 Volts direct current.

The battery management system may include a cell balancing systemconfigured to compare cell performance and adjust cells with voltagesmisaligned from target voltages. The cell balancing system may includeone or more discharge resistors and one or more voltage monitors on eachcell.

The battery management system may include a communication system, whichmay be wireless or another design, enabling the battery managementsystem to communicate with remote devices to transmit data regardingcell and cell pack characteristics. The communication system may enableinter-battery management system communications to facilitate paralleland series battery configurations. The battery management system mayinclude an alert system for indicating operational features of thebattery management system. The battery management system may include aninput system configured to receive input to control aspects of thebattery management system.

The controller may include an engine start mode in which the battery isdischarged to the under voltage protection level and under voltage modeis engaged. The controller may disengage the under voltage protectionmode for a specified window of time, referred to as an engine startwindow, thereby enabling an engine start to be attempted during theengine start window. The battery management system may include a batteryimpedance emulator to stabilize the battery management system when inover voltage protection mode.

An advantage of this system is that each cell of a battery, such as alithium battery, may be individually analyzed and individually chargedsuch that each cell may be fully charged thereby fully charging thebattery as a whole.

Another advantage of this system is that when the battery managementsystem is in over voltage protection mode, a filtering circuit isengaged which emulates a standard battery thereby eliminate electricalsystem malfunctions.

Yet another advantage of this system is that when the battery managementsystem is in under voltage protection mode, the battery voltage is stilldetectable on the battery posts allowing smart chargers to automaticallydetect the battery and start charging the battery.

Another advantage of this system is that the battery management systemis configured to regulate both voltage and current into a cell pack,thereby eliminating charging system instability which can damage cells.

Still another advantage of this system is that the battery managementsystem is configured to detect smart battery chargers and provides adirect charging path for the cells for smart battery chargers, therebyallowing the smart battery charger to directly control charging.

These and other embodiments are described in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the battery management system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the battery managementsystem.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the batterymanagement system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the batterymanagement system.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the batterymanagement system.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the batterymanagement system.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the battery management system includingthe battery charging system.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the system enabling users to accessdata collected via the system from remote locations.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a machine in the form of a computersystem within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies or operations ofthe system.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a battery with a battery managementsystem contained therein.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a battery with a battery managementsystem contained therein and coupled to a battery charger or other powersource.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a battery with a battery managementsystem contained therein, positioned within a vehicle and coupled to avehicle charging system therein.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a battery management systemself-contained within a battery management system housing and attachedto positive and negative posts of a battery and also includingconnections so that the battery management system can be coupled toanother system.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a battery management systemself-contained within a battery management system housing and positionedremotely from the battery. The battery management system may be inelectrical communication, in series, with the positive and negativeposts of the battery and may be in electrical communication with avehicle charging system, a battery charger or a power source.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a battery management systemself-contained within a battery management system housing and positionedremotely from the battery. The battery management system may be inelectrical communication with only the negative posts of the battery andmay be in electrical communication with a vehicle charging system, abattery charger or a power source.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

As shown in FIGS. 1-15, a battery management system 10 for engine startapplications, battery charging and deep cycle applications for batteriessuch as, but not limited to, electric vehicle battery packs and cellsand battery chemistries, such as, but not limited to, lithium ironphosphate batteries, lead acid batteries, gel batteries, and absorbedgel mat batteries is disclosed. The battery management system 10 may beconfigured to control the charge and charging of each cell on anindividual cell basis. The battery management system 10 may beconfigured to control the charge of a battery 12 which may consist of aplurality of cells 13, such as, but not limited to, lithium ironphosphate cells, and in at least one embodiment, the battery 12 mayconsist of, but is not limited to being formed from, four lithium ironphosphate cells connected in series and a battery management system 10to ensure proper charge and safe operation. The battery 12 may beremovably coupled to the battery management system 10.

In at least one embodiment, the battery management system 10 may includea battery charging system 11 including one or more power sourceconnections 36, as shown in FIG. 7, and one or more voltage monitors 18per battery cell 13, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-5. The battery managementsystem 10 may include one or more controllers 14 configured to controlvoltage and charging of each cell 13 individually in a multicell battery12. The battery management system 10 may be formed from one or moreprinted circuit board assemblies (PCBA). The one or more printed circuitboard assemblies may implement embodiments, such as, but not limited to,the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-6 and described herein. Theone or more printed circuit board assemblies may enable a systemintegrator to customize a battery 12 and other components.

The battery management system 10 may be configured in a number ofdifferent ways. In particular, the battery management system 10 may bepositioned within a battery housing 46, as shown in FIG. 10. As such,the battery 12 and battery management system 10 may appear to be asingle unit contained within the battery housing 46. In anotherembodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the battery management system 10 may bepositioned within a battery housing 46 and coupled to a battery charger11 or a power source 36. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the batterymanagement system 10 may be positioned within a battery housing 46 andcoupled to an electrical system and vehicle charging system 50positioned within a vehicle 48. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG.13, the battery management system 10 may be self-contained within abattery management system housing 52 that mounts to the posts 15 of abattery 12. The battery management system housing 52 may include posts54 for connection to an electrical system of a vehicle 48 and the like.In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the battery managementsystem 10 may be self-contained within a battery management systemhousing 52 that may be positioned remotely from a battery 12 and coupledto the battery posts 15 via electrical wires and the like and may becoupled to a vehicle charging system 50, battery charging system 11,power source 36 and the like. In such configuration, the batterymanagement system 10 may be wired in series to both battery posts 15. Inanother embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the battery management system10 may be self-contained within a battery management system housing 52that may be positioned remotely from a battery 12 and coupled to anegative battery post 15 via an electrical wire or the like and may becoupled to a vehicle charging system 50, battery charging system 11,power source 36 and the like.

The battery management system 10 may be configured to monitor a numberof parameters. In particular, the battery management system 10 may beconfigured to measure input voltage independent of cell pack voltage andindependent of individual cell voltages. The battery management system10 may be configured to measure input current to the battery 12.Similarly, the battery management system 10 may be configured to measureoutput current from the battery 12. The battery management system 10 maybe configured to measure the state of charge of the battery cells 13 andthe cell pack forming the battery 12. The battery management system 10may be configured to measure resting voltage of the battery cells 13while charging. In at least one embodiment, the battery managementsystem 10 may accomplish this by removing the input charge momentarilyand measuring the resting voltage during this momentary removal of theinput charge. The battery management system 10 may compensate fortemperature. If the battery 12 is above a temperature threshold, i.e.too hot, then the battery management system 10 will stop the dischargecurrent. If the battery 12 is below a temperature threshold, i.e. toocold, then the battery management system 10 will stop the chargecurrent.

In at least one embodiment, the battery management system 10 may beconfigured to control current or voltage, or both, to each cell toprevent overcharging and damage to the battery 12. The batterymanagement system 10 may operate in one of a plurality of modesincluding, but not limited to, a normal mode, an under voltageprotection mode and an over voltage protection mode, at any given time.The battery management system 10 may be configured such that the battery12 has voltage present on the posts 15 of the battery 12. Suchconfiguration enables chargers and charging systems to work properly tocharge the battery 12.

The battery management system 10 may include an under voltage protectionmode to protect one or more cells 13, or an entire battery 12 formedfrom a plurality of cells 13 from losing too much voltage. Unlikeconventional technology, the battery management system 10 can enable avoltage to be present across the poles of a battery 12 when the battery12 is in undervoltage protection mode to enable the battery voltage tobe monitored. As such, the battery management system 10 may beconfigured to allow a battery's voltage to be read while in undervoltage protection mode while limiting current flow. Additionally, thebattery management system 10 may be configured to allow a minimumdischarge current to operate critical systems, such as, but not limitedto the security system described herein. The battery management system10, a user or the like may adjust this minimal current flow availablewhen one or more battery cells 13 are in under voltage protection mode,for example, during an emergency start in the engine start mode. Assuch, the battery management system 10 may function such that a voltageacross the posts of a battery 12 may always be present, even in undervoltage protection mode. Under voltage protection mode may alsoautomatically clear once the battery charge is sufficient or may becleared via direction from a user through a wireless or othercommunications interface. Under voltage protection mode may alsoautomatically clear, such as being temporarily suspended, upon detectionof an engine start attempt discussed below.

The battery management system 10 may be designed to require nocalibration. The battery management system 10 may use one or more, ormultiple, voltage references as a direct comparison for under voltageprotection and over voltage protection. Under voltage protection modeoccurs when the voltage of one or more of the cells 13 is less than athreshold. The battery management system 10 may then open the dischargepath preventing further discharging of the cells 13. The threshold canbe set at a point to prevent damage to the cells 13 or to allowsufficient charge in the cells 13 for critical operations such as anengine start. Over voltage protection mode occurs when the voltage ofone or more of the cells 13 is greater than a threshold. The batterymanagement system 10 may open the charging path preventing furthercharging of the cells 13. The threshold is set at a point to preventdamage to the cells.

The battery management system 10 may include a controller 14, which inat least one embodiment, may be, but it not limited to being, amicrocontroller 14. The controller 14 may be configured to controlvoltage via under and over voltage protection modes and to charge eachcell individually in a multicell battery 12. The battery managementsystem 10 may include precision voltage references for use as a directcomparison for the under voltage protection mode and the over voltageprotection mode. The controller 14 may be configured to sense whether anindividual cell voltage is equal to or greater than an over voltageprotection mode reference voltage. If the individual cell voltage isequal to or greater than the over voltage protection reference voltage,then the controller 14 may place the individual battery cell 13 orentire cell pack forming the battery 12 in over voltage protection mode.In at least one embodiment, the controller 14 may place the individualbattery cell 13 or entire cell pack forming the battery 12 in overvoltage protection mode via opening a charging field effect transistor24. The controller 14 may be configured such that when the controller 14senses that an individual cell voltage is equal to or less than an undervoltage protection mode reference voltage, the controller 14 may placethe individual battery cell 13 or entire cell pack forming the battery12 in the under voltage protection mode. In at least one embodiment, thecontroller 14 may place the individual battery cell 13 or entire cellpack forming the battery 12 in the under voltage protection mode viaopening a discharging field effect transistor 26. In at least oneembodiment, the controller 14 is a microcontroller or other appropriatedevice.

A voltage regulator 16 may be used as the input for the cell chargingcircuit. The voltage regulator 16 may filter input voltage ripple beforeit reaches the cells. The voltage regulator 16 may be set to the chargevoltage level. Setting the voltage regulator 16 to the charge voltagelevel will allow maximum loading on the external charging system. Thisloading models a lead acid or absorbent glass mat style battery 12. Thebattery management system 10 uses the voltage regulator 16 as a directcurrent voltage regulator to generate the power output power algorithmto charge and maintain the batter cells 13 individually. The algorithmmay be broken into two main parts: constant current control mode and aconstant voltage mode. The constant voltage mode may be set by feedbackresistors in the voltage regulator circuit. Constant current may be setby measuring the resting voltage of the battery cells 13 and usingvariable feedback resistors to set a voltage higher than the restingcell voltage. The difference is that in the set voltage versus theresting cell voltage depends on the state of charge of the cells 13. Alower state of charge will require less difference between the setvoltage and resting cell voltage. The constant current mode voltage setpoint will be increased until the voltage reaches the constant voltagelimit of the charging algorithm. It is important to incrementallyincrease the set point voltage in smaller increments when the state ofcharge is low on the battery cells to prevent the battery managementsystem 10 from going into an over current protection mode in theregulator 16. The DC regulator 16 has a current limit and increasing theset point voltage prematurely will cause the DC regulator 16 to go in anoverload/shutdown mode or cause the regulator 16 to fail.

The voltage regulator 16 will have two operating modes: a constantcurrent mode and a constant voltage mode. In order to properly controlthe state of the voltage regulator 16, there may be a feedback loopmeasuring the cell voltage and the voltage regulator 16 adjust. The cellvoltage will be measured with the discharge field effect transistor openand the battery impedance emulator circuit engaged so the externalcharging system will maintain the quieting load on the system; thereby,maintaining the model of a lead acid or absorbent glass mat battery 12.The voltage regulator 16 may be in constant current mode when the cellvoltage is less than the current voltage level. The microcontroller 14may use an adjustable voltage regulator 16 to maintain the maximumoutput of the voltage regulator 16 while in constant current mode. Oncethe cell voltage reaches the charge level voltage, the microcontroller14 will fix the regulated voltage adjust entering constant voltage modeand will remain in this mode until the cell voltage level drops belowthe charge voltage level. Hysteresis may be added to ensure there is notan oscillation of the states in the feedback loop. The voltage regulator16 measures a cell voltage for a single battery cell 13 independently ofother battery cells 13 within the same battery 12.

Typical charging systems in vehicles have a wide variance of inputcharge power. There often exists large fluctuations in current andvoltage in these systems. Voltages can range from 12 Volts directcurrent to greater than 20 Volts direct current. The voltage regulator16 may accept this wide range of input current and voltages and output aconsistent state for the battery cells to charge. As such, the voltageregulator 16 may regulate the input voltage and input current. This mayallow for longer cell life, longer battery life, longer battery packlife, and more consistent performance.

The battery management system 10 may include a cell balancing system 28.The cell balancing system 10 may be incorporated to maximize the life ofthe battery cells. This may consist of a discharge resistor and avoltage monitor 18 on each cell. The voltage monitor 18 may compare allfour cells performance and activate the discharge resistor if a cell issignificantly higher in voltage than its counterparts. The battery cells13 may be discharged independently from each other within a singlebattery 12 or multiple batteries 12.

The battery management system 10 may include a wired or wirelesscommunication system 30, as shown in FIGS. 3-5. In at least oneembodiment, the communication system 30 may be, but is not limited tobeing, a wireless module 20. In at least one embodiment, thecommunication system 30 may be configured to communicate with anapplication to a user or others to monitor individual cell status, cellpack status and other data, such as, but not limited to, state of chargeof one or more of the cells individually, state of charge of all of thecells forming a battery, voltage of the cells, voltage of all of thecells forming a battery, temperature of the all of the cells forming abattery, discharge current, charge current, number of charging cycles oneach cell, input voltage, temperature, whether the battery is in undervoltage protection mode, whether the battery is in over voltageprotection mode, discharging current and charging current, number ofcharging cycles, status of cell balancing, determination of how close avoltage of each cell is to an average voltage of all the cells. Thecommunication system 30 may be configured for inter-battery managementsystem 10 communications to facilitate parallel and series batteryconfigurations. The communication system 30 may be configured totransmit alerts to an application such as, but not limited to, undervoltage protection mode, over voltage protection mode. The communicationsystem 30 may be configured to receive commands from an application suchas, but not limited to, enabling security features, disengaging undervoltage protection. The communication system 30 may be configured toenable discharging given proximity to an authorized mobile device.

The battery management system 10 may include an alert system 31configured to indicate to a user various information. In at least oneembodiment, the alert system 31 may include one or more visual alerts,such as, but not limited to, three light emitting diodes to indicate thebattery 12 is powered, the communication system 30 is operational, andan error light emitting diode indicating any abnormalities. The alertssystem 31 may communicate alerts to a user via visual indicatorsphysically attached to the system or via communications, such as throughthe wireless communication system 30 to a user device 102, 111 and thelike.

The battery management system 10 may also include an input system 34configured to enable a user to input information into the system 10. Inat least one embodiment, the input system 34 may be formed from one ormore input devices, such as, but not limited to buttons, one to resetthe communication system 30 and one to reset the microcontroller 14. Inat least one embodiment, the battery management system 10 may beconfigured such that the input system 34 is a device, such as, but notlimited to a user device 102, 111, as shown in FIG. 8, which may be acomputer, a laptop, a tablet device, a phablet, a server, a mobiledevice, a smartphone, a smart watch, and/or any other type of computingdevice. A user may communicate with the battery management system 10 viaany appropriate portal on the user device 102, 111, such as, but notlimited to, a battery management system application (app), othersoftware programs and the like. The battery management system 10 maycommunicate to a user in through a user account, which the user maychoose to view on any device, with alerts and other notifications setforth herein. The user may communicate with the battery managementsystem 10 via the user account via any device. The user account may beestablished on a system for use by the battery management system 10.

The battery management system 10 may include an engine start modeenabling an engine to which a battery of the battery management system10 is attached, to be started. In at least one aspect of the enginestart mode, the battery management system 10 may be configured to enablean emergency start function. If the battery 12 is discharged to theunder voltage protection threshold and a user would like to reset thebattery 12 to try and perform an engine start, the controller 14 willdisengage the under voltage protection mode upon boot-up. This willallow the user to perform a boot with input to the controller 14 such asvia a controller reset button, which may be, but is not limited tobeing, positioned inline on a charging cable, then immediately try anengine start before time expires on the engine start mode and undervoltage protection mode is activated. During use, when the battery 12 isdischarged to an under voltage protection level, the battery managementsystem 10 engages the under voltage protection mode. In the undervoltage protection mode, the batter management system 10 prevents thebattery from discharging any voltage to protect the battery 12 frombeing completely discharged, thereby preventing further batterydischarge and thus also prevents actions such as engine start. Thecontroller 14 of the battery management system 10 may enable anemergency start function by temporarily disengaging the under voltageprotection mode to create an engine start window in which the battery ispermitted to discharge, thereby enabling an engine start to be attemptedduring the engine start window. The engine start window may be, but isnot limited to being between two seconds of time and five minutes oftime. In another embodiment, the engine start window may be, but is notlimited to being between ten seconds of time and one minute of time. Thecontroller 14 may automatically disengage the under voltage protectionmode once the battery charge is sufficient.

A user may indicate the user's desire to try an emergency start on avehicle, such as, but not limited to a motorcycle, to which the batterymanagement system 10 is attached. As such, the user may disengage theunder voltage protection mode via user input, such as, but not limitedto, the user turning an ignition key on and off a predetermined numberof times, pushing an engine start button on and off a predeterminednumber of times, via a user interface, such as, but not limited to, awireless device, such as an application on a cellular phonecommunicating via a wireless interface, such as a radio frequencyinterface, or other such input. The under voltage protection mode may bedisengaged through a wired, a wireless or other type communicationsinterface. In another embodiment, the controller 14 may automaticallydisengage the under voltage protection mode upon detection of an enginestart attempt via use of the ignition key or ignition system.

The battery management system 10 may include a system control moduleconfigured to maintain the integrity of an electrical system, such as avehicle electrical system, to which the battery management system 10 isattached when the battery management system 10 is in an over voltageprotection mode. In particular, the system control module simulates abattery 12 so that the electrical system, such as a vehicle electricalsystem, to which the battery management system 10 is attached does notdevelop odd, explained errors and operating conditions when the batterymanagement system 10 is in an over voltage protection mode. The systemcontrol module may emulate the battery's impedance when measuring thevoltage of each cell. The system control module of the batterymanagement system 10 may include a battery impedance emulator 38 tostabilize the battery management system 10 when in over voltageprotection mode. During use, when one or more of the battery cells 13 ina call pack forming a battery 12 reach or exceed an over voltageprotection level, the battery management system 10 may engage the overvoltage protection mode. Once engaged, the over voltage protection modedisconnects the battery cells 13 from the loading battery managementsystem 10. This can cause the battery management system 10 to becomeunstable resulting in electrical system failures, however, the batteryimpedance block 32 emulates the load of a standard battery therebymaintaining the battery management system 10 stability and preventingsystem instability.

The battery management system 10 operates such that each impedance block32 emulates the battery 12, as shown in FIG. 2. When an impedance block32 reaches capacity, the impedance block 32 is switched out and adischarged impedance block 32 switched in. The capacity of the impedanceblock 32 is determined by measurements of the voltage on the input. Eachimpedance block 32 may be self-discharging. The number of impedanceblocks 32 necessary depends on the discharge time of each impedanceblock 32 versus the characteristics of the charging system to which thebattery 12 is coupled.

The battery management system 10 may include a security systemconfigured to secure the battery 12 to prevent theft of a vehicle bysecuring the battery 12. In at least one embodiment, the batterymanagement system 10 may be configured to prevent outflow of current andthereby prevent an engine start after the security system has beenactivated. The security system may be activated automatically by thecontroller 14 after a predetermined threshold has been met. The securitysystem may be activated by a user. The user may communicate with thecontroller 14 via the communication system 30.

The battery management system 10 may include a smart charger detectionmodule configured to detect the presence of a smart charger attached toposts of a battery 12. A smart charger is configured to only apply acharge when it detects a voltage across the posts, also referred to asthe battery terminals, of the battery 12. If a smart charger doesn'tsense voltage across the posts, then the smart charger will not apply acharge. During use, the battery management system 10 may sense that itis receiving an input charge. The battery management system 10 mayremove all battery cells 13 from supplying voltage to the battery posts.The battery management system 10 then determines whether a chargeremains at the battery posts. If a charge remains, the batterymanagement system 10 concludes that conventional charger is attached tothe battery 12. If the battery management system 10 determines that nocharge exists across the posts of the battery 12, the battery managementsystem 10 concludes that a smart charger is attached to the battery 12.

The battery management system 10 may be configured such that at leasttwo different charging paths exist. In particular, the batterymanagement system 10 may have a charging path for a conventional chargerin which a regulator exists. The battery management system 10 may alsoinclude a charging path whereby a smart charger is attached directly toposts of a battery 12. As such, the charging path for a smart charger isa direct path to the cell pack, battery 12, thereby allowing the smartcharger to manage charging.

The battery management system 10 may be configured for engine startsapplications. In particular, the battery management system 10 may beconfigured to replace cell banks 12 with super capacitors or may beconfigured to be compatible with a combination of cell banks and supercapacitors allowing for high instantaneous current draw events, such as,but not limited to engine starts. The battery management system 10 maybe configured to collect cells into pack banks, which may allow one ormore packs 12 to be discharged while the other packs 12 are beingcharged and thus always maintaining a load on the charging system. Thebattery management system 10 may be configured to integratelearning/filtering into the software to customize the reserve charge setaside for engine starts. The battery management system 10 may include abattery charging system 11 including one or more power sourceconnections. The battery charging system 11 may include one or morevoltage regulators per battery cell.

The battery management system 10 may include a voice control module. Thevoice control module may enable input to be made by the batterymanagement system 10 to be controlled via voice commands. The batterymanagement system 10 may be configured to be an intelligent system tolearn the language and dialect of the user. The battery managementsystem 10 may be configured to be adjusted to operate in any languageconfigurable by a user. An example of a voice command would be a userstating verbally “Security Enable”, which would enable the securitysystem described herein and limit the current flow out of the battery 12to prevent an engine start but allow the electronics to be powered. Thebattery management system 10 may be configured such that the voicecontrol module can be incorporated in an embodiment in which the batterymanagement system 10 is embedded in the battery 12. The batterymanagement system 10 could be included within a combo charger/jump-pack.A speaker 40, microphone 42 and amplifier 44, as shown in FIG. 15, maybe included to enable the voice control module. In at least oneembodiment, the battery management system 10 includes a command set ofwords that a user could use verbally to control various aspects of thebattery management system 10. In at least one embodiment, the batterymanagement system 10 may be in communication with a remote serversystem, such as, but not limited to an Amazon Web Services and the like,via the wireless communication system 30 to enable the voice controlmodule to operate on a greater range of commands. For instance, more CPUpower would be available on Amazon Web Services servers which wouldallow for wider range of voice input.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the battery management system 10 may includea wireless communication system 30 enabling analysis and review of thedata of the battery management system 10 to take place anywhere desired.The system 10 may be configured to be accessible via systems such as,but not limited to, machine learning services, data and contentservices, computing applications and services, cloud computing services,internet services, satellite services, telephone services, software as aservice (SaaS) applications and services, mobile applications andservices, platform as a service (PaaS) applications and services, webservices, client servers, and any other computing applications andservices. The system 10 may include a first user 101, who may utilize afirst user device 102 to access data, content, and applications, or toperform a variety of other tasks and functions. As an example, the firstuser 101 may utilize first user device 102 to access an application(e.g. a browser or a mobile application) executing on the first userdevice 102 that may be utilized to access web pages, data, and contentassociated with the system 10. The system 10 may include any number ofusers.

The battery management system 10 may be configured to use the wirelesscommunication system 30 to enable a user to communicate with the batterymanagement system 10. The battery management system 10 may include oneor more wireless modules 20, which may be fashioned as a hubs tocommunicate wirelessly to the wireless communication system 30. The hub20 could be in a charger with a WiFi connection and, through thewireless communication system 30, connect to tire pressure monitors,battery monitors, OBD data ports, and the like. The hub 20 could connectthrough a user's WiFi network to a servers of a battery managementsystem provider. The hub 20 could also be connected to servers of abattery management system provider via the wireless communication system30 described herein. A user may monitor the status of connected sensorsthrough any connection to the battery management system 10, such as, butnot limited to, a mobile app, a web-based portal and other devicesdescribed herein. A user may also control the battery management system10 and such features as stopping a battery charger, enabling a securityfeature and the like. The command of the battery management system 10may be either for an individual consumer or for fleet management. Thebattery management system 10 may be monitored via the wirelesscommunication system 30 to via home speakers such as Amazon's Alexa. Thebattery management system 10 may include an alert system to generate andsend alerts to a user such as, but not limited to, “Low BatteryWarning”, “Low Tire Pressure Warning”, “Vehicle Is Moving”, “TemperatureWarning”, and the like. A user may also issue verbal commands such as“Charge My Battery” and the like that could be received via a microphonein close proximity to the user and transmitted via the wirelesscommunication system 30 to the battery management system 10.

In at least one embodiment, the wireless communication system 30, asshown in FIGS. 8 and 9 may include a first user device 102 utilized bythe first user 101 may include a memory 103 that includes instructions,and a processor 104 that executes the instructions from the memory 103to perform the various operations that are performed by the first userdevice 102. In certain embodiments, the processor 104 may be hardware,software, or a combination thereof. The first user device 102 may alsoinclude an interface 105 (e.g. screen, monitor, graphical userinterface, etc.) that may enable the first user 101 to interact withvarious applications executing on the first user device 102, to interactwith various applications executing within the system 10, and tointeract with the system 10 itself. In certain embodiments, the firstuser device 102 may include components that provide non-visual outputs.For example, the first user device 102 may include speakers, hapticcomponents, tactile components, or other components, which may beutilized to generate non-visual outputs that may be perceived and/orexperienced by the first user 101. In certain embodiments, the firstuser device 102 may be configured to not include interface 105. Incertain embodiments, the first user device 102 may be a computer, alaptop, a tablet device, a phablet, a server, a mobile device, asmartphone, a smart watch, and/or any other type of computing device.Illustratively, the first user device 102 is shown as a mobile device inFIG. 8.

In addition to the first user 101, the system 10 may include a seconduser 110, who may utilize a second user device 111 to access data,content, and applications, or to perform a variety of other tasks andfunctions. As with the first user 101, in certain embodiments, thesecond user 110 may be any type of user that may review data from thesystem 10. Much like the first user 101, the second user 110 may utilizesecond user device 111 to access an application (e.g. a browser or amobile application) executing on the second user device 111 that may beutilized to access web pages, data, and content associated with thesystem 10. The second user device 111 may include a memory 112 thatincludes instructions, and a processor 113 that executes theinstructions from the memory 112 to perform the various operations thatare performed by the second user device 111. In certain embodiments, theprocessor 113 may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Thesecond user device 111 may also include an interface 114 (e.g. a screen,a monitor, a graphical user interface, etc.) that may enable the seconduser 110 to interact with various applications executing on the seconduser device 111, to interact with various applications executing in thesystem 10, and to interact with the system 10. In certain embodiments,the second user device 111 may be a computer, a laptop, a tablet device,a phablet, a server, a mobile device, a smartphone, a smart watch,and/or any other type of computing device. Illustratively, the seconduser device 111 may be a computing device in FIG. 1. The second userdevice 111 may also include any of the componentry described for firstuser device 102.

In certain embodiments, the first user device 102 and the second userdevice 111 may have any number of software applications and/orapplication services stored and/or accessible thereon. In certainembodiments, the software applications and services may include one ormore graphical user interfaces so as to enable the first and secondusers 101, 110 to readily interact with the software applications. Thesoftware applications and services may also be utilized by the first andsecond users 101, 110 to interact with any device in the system 10, anynetwork in the system 10, or any combination thereof.

The system 10 may also include a communications network 135. Thecommunications network 135 of the system 10 may be configured to linkeach of the devices in the system 10 to one another. For example, thecommunications network 135 may be utilized by the first user device 102to connect with other devices within or outside communications network135. Additionally, the communications network 135 may be configured totransmit, generate, and receive any information and data traversing thesystem 10. In certain embodiments, the communications network 135 mayinclude any number of servers, databases, or other componentry, and maybe controlled by a service provider. The communications network 135 mayalso include and be connected to a cloud-computing network, a phonenetwork, a wireless network, an Ethernet network, a satellite network, abroadband network, a cellular network, a private network, a cablenetwork, the Internet, an internet protocol network, a contentdistribution network, a virtual private network, any network, or anycombination thereof. Illustratively, server 140 and server 150 are shownas being included within communications network 135.

Notably, the functionality of the system 10 may be supported andexecuted by using any combination of the servers 140, 150, and 160. Theservers 140, and 150 may reside in communications network 135, however,in certain embodiments, the servers 140, 150 may reside outsidecommunications network 135. The servers 140 and 150 may be utilized toperform the various operations and functions provided by the system 10,such as those requested by applications executing on the first andsecond user devices 102, 111. In certain embodiments, the server 140 mayinclude a memory 141 that includes instructions, and a processor 142that executes the instructions from the memory 141 to perform variousoperations that are performed by the server 140. The processor 142 maybe hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Similarly, the server150 may include a memory 151 that includes instructions, and a processor152 that executes the instructions from the memory 151 to perform thevarious operations that are performed by the server 150. In certainembodiments, the servers 140, 150, and 160 may be network servers,routers, gateways, switches, media distribution hubs, signal transferpoints, service control points, service switching points, firewalls,routers, edge devices, nodes, computers, mobile devices, or any othersuitable computing device, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the servers 140, 150 may be communicatively linked to thecommunications network 135, any network, any device in the system 10, orany combination thereof.

The database 155 of the system 10 may be utilized to store and relayinformation that traverses the system 10, cache information and/orcontent that traverses the system 10, store data about each of thedevices in the system 10, and perform any other typical functions of adatabase. In certain embodiments, the database 155 may store the outputfrom any operation performed by the system 10, operations performed andoutput generated by the first and second user devices 102, 111, theservers 140, 150, 160, or any combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the database 155 may store a record of any and allinformation obtained from any data sources utilized by the system 10 tofacilitate the operative functions of the system 10 and its components,store any information and data obtained from the internal and externaldata sources 201, 202, store the agglomerated models 208, store outputsgenerated by an application under evaluation 230, store feedbackreceived from the first and second users 101, 110 and/or the first andsecond user devices 102, 111, store inputs entered into or utilized tointeract with the application under evaluation 230, store software code245 generated by the system 10, store reports 242 generated by thesystem 10, store analyses 243 generated by the system 10, store testresults 246 generated by the system 10, store test data 247, store mediatraining videos and media content, store any information generatedand/or received by the system 10, any other data traversing the system10, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the database 155may be connected to or reside within the communications network 135, anyother network, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, thedatabase 155 may serve as a central repository for any informationassociated with any of the devices and information associated with thesystem 10. Furthermore, the database 155 may include a processor andmemory or be connected to a processor and memory to perform the variousoperations associated with the database 155. In certain embodiments, thedatabase 155 may be connected to the servers 140, 150, 160, the firstuser device 102, the second user device 111, any devices in the system10, any other device, any network, or any combination thereof.

The database 155 may also store information obtained from the system 10,store information associated with the first and second users 101, 110,store location information for the first and second user devices 102,111 and/or first and second users 101, 110, store user profilesassociated with the first and second users 101, 110, store deviceprofiles associated with any device in the system 10, storecommunications traversing the system 10, store user preferences, storedemographic information for the first and second users 101, 110, storeinformation associated with any device or signal in the system 10, storeinformation relating to usage of applications accessed by the first andsecond user devices 102, 111, store any information obtained from any ofthe networks in the system 10, store historical data associated with thefirst and second users 101, 110, store device characteristics, storeinformation relating to any devices associated with the first and secondusers 101, 110, or any combination thereof. The user profiles mayinclude any type of information associated with an individual (e.g.first user 101 and/or second user 110), such as, but not limited to ausername, a password, contact information, demographic information,psychographic information, an identification of applications used orassociated with the individual, any attributes of the individual, anyother information, or a combination thereof. Device profiles may includeany type of information associated with a device, such as, but notlimited to, operating system information, hardware specifications,information about each component of the device (e.g. sensors,processors, memories, batteries, etc.), attributes of the device, anyother information, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the database 155 may store algorithmsfacilitating the operation of the system 10 itself, any softwareapplication utilized by the system 10, or any combination thereof. Incertain embodiments, the database 155 may be configured to store anyinformation generated and/or processed by the system 10, store any ofthe information disclosed for any of the operations and functionsdisclosed for the system 10 herewith, store any information traversingthe system 10, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the database 155may be configured to process queries sent to it by any device in thesystem 10.

In certain embodiments, the system 10 may communicate and/or interactwith an external network 165. In certain embodiments, the externalnetwork 165 may include any number of servers, databases, or othercomponentry, and, in certain embodiments, may be controlled by a serviceprovider. The external network 165 may also include and be connected toa cloud-computing network, a phone network, a wireless network, anEthernet network, a satellite network, a broadband network, a cellularnetwork, a private network, a cable network, the Internet, an internetprotocol network, a content distribution network, a virtual privatenetwork, any network, or any combination thereof.

The system 10 may also include a software application or program, whichmay be configured to perform and support the operative functions of thesystem 10. In certain embodiments, the application may be a softwareprogram, a website, a mobile application, a software application, asoftware process, or a combination thereof, which may be made accessibleto users utilizing one or more computing devices, such as first userdevice 102 and second user device 111. The application of the system 10may be accessible via an internet connection established with a browserprogram executing on the first or second user devices 102, 111, a mobileapplication executing on the first or second user devices 102, 111, orthrough other suitable means. Additionally, the application may allowusers and computing devices to create accounts with the application andsign-in to the created accounts with authenticating username andpassword log-in combinations. In certain embodiments, the softwareapplication may execute directly as an installed program on the firstand/or second user devices 102, 111, such as a mobile application or adesktop application. In certain embodiments, the software applicationmay execute directly on any combination of the servers 140, 150, 160.

The software application may include multiple programs and/or functionsthat execute within the software application and/or are accessible bythe software application. For example, the software application mayinclude an application that generates web content and pages that may beaccessible to the first and/or second user devices 102, 111, any type ofprogram, or any combination thereof.

Notably, in certain embodiments, various functions and features of thesystem 10 may operate without human intervention and may be conductedentirely by computing devices, robots, programs, and/or processes. Forexample, in certain embodiments, multiple computing devices may interactwith devices of the system 10 to provide the functionality supported bythe system 10.

Referring now also to FIG. 18, at least a portion of the methodologiesand techniques described with respect to the exemplary embodiments ofthe system 10 can incorporate a machine, such as, but not limited to,computer system 1000, or other computing device within which a set ofinstructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one ormore of the methodologies or functions discussed above. The machine maybe configured to facilitate various operations conducted by the system10. For example, the machine may be configured to, but is not limitedto, assist the system 10 by providing processing power to assist withprocessing loads experienced in the system 10, by providing storagecapacity for storing instructions or data traversing the system 10, orby assisting with any other operations conducted by or within the system10.

In some embodiments, the machine may operate as a standalone device. Insome embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., usingcommunications network 135, another network, or a combination thereof)to and assist with operations performed by other machines and systems,such as, but not limited to, the first user device 102, the second userdevice 111, the server 140, the server 150, the database 155, the server160, or any combination thereof. The machine may assist with operationsperformed by other component in the system, any programs in the system,or any combination thereof. The machine may be connected with anycomponent in the system 10. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client user machine in aserver-client user network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine maycomprise a server computer, a client user computer, a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a controlsystem, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 1000 may include a processor 62 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 1004 and a static memory 1006, which communicate with each othervia a bus 1008. The computer system 100 may further include a videodisplay unit 1010, which may be, but is not limited to, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a flat panel, a solid state display, or a cathode raytube (CRT). The computer system 100 may include an input device 1012,such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, a cursor control device 1014,such as, but not limited to, a mouse, a disk drive unit 1016, a signalgeneration device 1018, such as, but not limited to, a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 1020.

The disk drive unit 1016 may include a machine-readable medium 1022 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions 1024, such as, but notlimited to, software embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein, including those methods illustrated above.The instructions 1024 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 1004, the static memory 1006, or within theprocessor 62, or a combination thereof, during execution thereof by thecomputer system 100. The main memory 1004 and the processor 62 also mayconstitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationsmay include, but are not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine-readable medium 1022containing instructions 1024 so that a device connected to thecommunications network 135, another network, or a combination thereof,can send or receive voice, video or data, and communicate over thecommunications network 135, another network, or a combination thereof,using the instructions. The instructions 1024 may further be transmittedor received over the communications network 135, another network, or acombination thereof, via the network interface device 1020.

While the machine-readable medium 1022 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that causes the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The terms “machine-readable medium,” “machine-readable device,” or“computer-readable device” shall accordingly be taken to include, butnot be limited to: memory devices, solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. The “machine-readable medium,” “machine-readable device,” or“computer-readable device” may be non-transitory, and, in certainembodiments, may not include a wave or signal per se. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of amachine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, anddescribing embodiments of this invention. Modifications and adaptationsto these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art andmay be made without departing from the scope or spirit of thisinvention.

We claim:
 1. A battery management system for a battery, comprising: acontroller configured to be coupled to a multicell battery; wherein thecontroller is configured to control charging and discharge of each cellindividually of the multicell battery.
 2. The battery management systemof claim 1, wherein the controller is a microcontroller.
 3. The batterymanagement system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured todetermine whether an individual cell voltage is equal to or greater thanan over voltage protection reference voltage and, if the individual cellvoltage is equal to or greater than the over voltage protectionreference voltage, then the controller places that individual cell intoan over voltage protection mode.
 4. The battery management system ofclaim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether anindividual cell voltage is equal to or less than an under voltageprotection reference voltage, and, if the individual cell voltage isequal to or less than the under voltage protection reference voltage,then the controller places that individual cell into an under voltageprotection mode.
 5. The battery management system of claim 1, whereinthe controller includes a system control module configured to maintainthe integrity of an electrical system to which the battery managementsystem is attached when the battery management system is in an overvoltage protection mode.
 6. The battery management system of claim 5,wherein the system control module comprises a discharge field effecttransistor and a battery impedance emulator circuit, wherein cellvoltage is measured with the discharge field effect transistor open andthe battery impedance emulator circuit engaged, thereby maintaining aquieting load on the external charging system, which models a battery.7. The battery management system of claim 1, wherein the controllerincludes a smart charger detection module configured to detect thepresence of a smart charger attached directly to a battery and enable asmart charge to charge the multicell battery.
 8. The battery managementsystem of claim 1, wherein the controller includes an alert systemconfigured to generate alerts.
 9. The battery management system of claim1, further comprising a battery charging system comprising at least onevoltage regulator per battery cell.
 10. The battery management system ofclaim 1, further comprising a voltage regulator for input for the cellcharging circuit to filter out input voltage ripple from a charge beforethe charge reaches the cells of the multicell battery.
 11. The batterymanagement system of claim 10, wherein the voltage regulator is set to acharge voltage level, thereby allowing maximum loading on the externalcharging system.
 12. The battery management system of claim 10, whereinthe voltage regulator has operating modes include a constant currentmode and a constant voltage mode.
 13. The battery management system ofclaim 10, wherein the voltage regulator is in constant current mode whenthe cell voltage is less than the current voltage level.
 14. The batterymanagement system of claim 10, further comprising a feedback loopmeasuring cell voltage to control a state of the regulator.
 15. Thebattery management system of claim 14, wherein the controller implementshysteresis to prevent an oscillation of states in the feedback loop. 16.The battery management system of claim 10, wherein the controllerincludes an adjustable voltage regulator to maintain maximum output ofapplied voltage while in constant current mode.
 17. The batterymanagement system of claim 10, wherein once cell voltage reaches acharge level voltage, the controller fixes a regulated voltage adjustentering constant voltage mode and remains in this mode until cellvoltage level drops below the charge voltage level.
 18. The batterymanagement system of claim 10, wherein the voltage regulator isconfigured to accept input voltage within a range between 12 Voltsdirect current and 20 Volts direct current.
 19. The battery managementsystem of claim 1, further comprising a cell balancing system configuredto compare individual cell performance and adjust individual cells withvoltages misaligned from target voltages.
 20. The battery managementsystem of claim 19, wherein the cell balancing system comprises at leastone discharge resistor and at least one voltage monitor on cellsindividually.
 21. The battery management system of claim 1, furthercomprising a wireless communication system enabling the batterymanagement system to communicate with remote devices to transmit dataregarding at least one cell.
 22. The battery management system of claim1, further comprising an input system configured to receive input tocontrol aspects of the battery management system.
 23. The batterymanagement system of claim 1, wherein the controller includes an enginestart mode in which the controller enables a user to attempt an enginestart of a vehicle to which the battery management system is attachedeven when one or more of the cells is in under voltage protection modeby temporarily suspending the under voltage protection mode to create anengine start window, thereby enabling an engine start to be attemptedduring the engine start window.
 24. The battery management system ofclaim 1, further comprising a voice control module to enable input tothe battery management system be made via voice commands.
 25. Thebattery management system of claim 1, further comprising a securitysystem configured to secure the battery to prevent theft of a vehicle towhich the battery is attached by preventing outflow of current from thebattery.